Frater sorori dicit: “Quid agamus? Tempus est breve et mater iam redire vult.”

Because sorori is the dative singular form of soror and shows the person to whom something is said.

• soror = sister
• sorori = to/for the sister

So Frater sorori dicit literally means The brother says to the sister or more naturally The brother says to his sister.

Frater is nominative singular, because it is the subject of dicit.

In other words, frater is the one doing the speaking.

• frater = brother
• nominative case = the subject of the verb

So:

• frater dicit = the brother says

In Latin, dico, dicere often means say, tell, or speak, depending on the context.

So Frater sorori dicit is literally The brother says to his sister, but in natural English we might also translate it as The brother says to his sister or The brother tells his sister.

This is normal Latin usage. A learner should not expect a one-to-one match with English wording.

Quid agamus? uses the present subjunctive of agere and means something like:

• What are we to do?
• What should we do?
• What shall we do?

This is a very common use of the subjunctive in Latin for deliberative questions: questions where someone is wondering what action to take.

By contrast, Quid facimus? would more straightforwardly mean What are we doing? or possibly What do we do?, not the same idea of uncertainty or deliberation.

Agamus is:

• 1st person plural
• present
• active
• subjunctive

from ago, agere = do, drive, act

So agamus means let us do / we should do / we are to do, depending on context.

In the question Quid agamus?, it has the sense What should we do?

Because tempus is a neuter noun, and the adjective has to agree with it in gender, number, and case.

• tempus = neuter singular nominative
• therefore the adjective must also be neuter singular nominative
• brevis is masculine/feminine nominative singular
• breve is neuter nominative singular

So:

• tempus breve = short time / time is short

This is a simple sentence with a linking verb:

• tempus = subject, time
• est = is
• breve = predicate adjective, short

So the structure is:

• subject + est
  • adjective

Latin often works like English here:

• Tempus est breve = Time is short

Because volo, velle means to want, and it is commonly followed by an infinitive expressing what someone wants to do.

• vult = she wants
• redire = to return / to come back

So:

• mater iam redire vult = mother now wants to return

This is just like English wants to return.

Redire is the present active infinitive of redeo, redire, meaning to go back or to return.

It is a compound of:

• re- = back
• eo, ire = go

So redire literally means to go back.

Depending on context, English may translate it as return, go back, or even come back.

Iam means now or already, and Latin word order is more flexible than English word order.

Here it modifies the idea that the mother already/now wants to return:

• mater iam redire vult

Latin often places adverbs in positions that sound unusual to English speakers, but the meaning is still clear. You should not expect Latin to keep adverbs in exactly the same place English would.

To an English speaker, yes, it may feel unusual, but it is very normal for Latin.

For example:

• Frater sorori dicit literally = Brother to-sister says
• mater iam redire vult literally = mother now to-return wants

Latin relies much more on endings than on fixed word order. Because the endings show the grammatical role of words, Latin can move words around more freely for emphasis, style, or rhythm.

Latin often leaves possession understood from context when it is obvious.

Here, Frater sorori dicit naturally means The brother says to his sister, even though there is no explicit word for his.

Latin certainly can use possessive words like suus, but it does not always need to. If the relationship is obvious, the noun alone is often enough.

The colon introduces the brother’s actual words:

• Frater sorori dicit: ...

This is similar to English punctuation in narrative writing: The brother says to his sister: ...

Inside the speech, the question mark belongs to Quid agamus?, and then the next sentence continues with Tempus est breve et mater iam redire vult.

All three are third-declension nouns.

• frater, fratris = brother
• soror, sororis = sister
• mater, matris = mother

That helps explain forms like:

• sorori = dative singular
• mater = nominative singular

These family words are very common, so it is useful to learn their principal forms early.